1.I am honoured to be invited to deliver the inaugural Memorial Lecture instituted in memory of our former Vice-President Shri Bhairon Singh Sekhawat, an outstanding statesman, humble son of the soil and a man of the masses.

Your Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I extend a very warm welcome to you, Mr. President and the distinguished members of your delegation.

It is indeed a privilege as well as a pleasure for me to be invited to deliver the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture.

When I think of The Indian Express, I think of Shri Ramnath Goenka.

I am indeed very happy to be amidst this august gathering of distinguished dental professionals, academicians and research scholars and to receive the first copies of these two books – Color Atlas of Oral implants and Conservative Dentistry – Basics. At the outset, let me congratulate the authors of both these books Dr. Praful Bali, Dr. Lanka Mahesh, Dr. Dildeep Bali and Dr.

1. It is indeed a proud privilege for me to be present amidst you for the convocation ceremony of this prestigious College. At the outset, I would like to congratulate all the graduating officers for the successful completion of the course.

1.I am delighted to be amidst you this afternoon to present the Lakshmipat Singhania- IIM Lucknow National Leadership Awards 2017.

1.It is indeed a privilege for me to be present on the occasion of inauguration of the unified campus of the prestigious Bose Institute. Almost a century ago, J.C. Bose, dedicated this Institute, the first of its kind in the country fully devoted towards scientific research, to the service of the nation.

1.In a few minutes from now, we will witness the launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a unified tax system, in the country. This historic moment is the culmination of a fourteen-year long journey which began in December 2002, when the Kelkar Task Force on indirect taxation suggested a comprehensive Goods and Services Tax (GST) based on the Value Added Tax principle.

It is indeed a privilege for me to be present amidst you on this happy occasion and to receive the first copy of the re-launched National Herald. Today, a soldier and a witness of the Indian freedom struggle has risen again.

1.On the very happy occasion of Guru Purnima, it is my privilege today to launch major developments in higher education systems i.e. SWAYAM and other key digital initiatives for higher education. Let me congratulate the dynamic Minister of Human Resource Development for these initiatives.